'Bling Empire' is the new rich kid on the block

Hollywood appears to be having a bit of a boom these days with content created by and starring people of Asian descent.

It’s been a long time coming.

When “Crazy Rich Asians” was released in 2018, it became the first major Hollywood studio movie since “The Joy Luck Club” came out in ’93 — yes, 25 years prior — to feature a predominantly Asian cast.

“We promote Asian storytelling. Not just Asian stories, but Asian people in stories with the full spectrum of the human experience,” Chieng said at the time. “When you say, ‘Oh, it’s not enough attention on Asians, it’s more black and white, that game becomes like you’re playing the discrimination Olympics.”

Here’s where we are seeing more representation:

Kelly Mi Li (left) and Kane Lim (right) are shown in a scene from "Bling Empire."

Reality TV: “Crazy Rich Asians” ushered in a fascination with the wealthiest and most successful in the culture including docuseries “House of Ho” on HBO Max (which is owned by CNN’s parent company) and “Singapore Social” on Netflix.

The newest rich kid on the block, Netflix’s “Bling Empire,” is my own personal obsession at the moment.

I talked to one of its cast members and producers, Christine Chiu, last week. She shared her theory as to why it has taken a while for reality projects about and starring Asians to catch Hollywood’s attention.

“I believe that the Asian culture is just very private, I don’t want to fault the entertainment industry for not giving us an earlier shot so to speak,” Chiu said. “I do feel that the industry does want to have cultural diversity because it does serve them well. Case in point, look at ‘Bridgerton.'”

“Bling Empire” also explores real racial and cultural challenges faced by some of the cast members, like model Kevin Kreider’s identity struggle from having been adopted from Korea into a White family in the US. This topic is something he also had explored in Doris Yeung’s 2019 documentary, “The Ugly Model.”

And, of course, “Indian Matchmaking” was a huge hit for Netflix last year.

Lead character Raya is voiced by Kelly Marie Tran in "Raya and the Last Dragon."

Film: Chloé Zhao became the first woman of Asian descent to receive a Golden Globe nomination for best director Wednesday. The drama “Nomadland” is also nominated for best motion picture.

And there are more projects coming.

“Mortal Kombat” starring Lewis Tan is set to be released in April and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu has reportedly been tapped to direct the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked.”

The forthcoming Disney animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon” has sparked discussion.

The movie is about a young woman named Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran),omigncenter">

‘Bling Empire’ is the new rich kid on the block